AN investigation has been launched after a man was found dead following a chemical leak at a cold storage depot.

The man, in his fifties, is thought to have been carrying out routine maintenance work when he was overcome by ammonia fumes at Cold Move food distributors on the Stone Cross Enterprise Park, in Lowton, near Wigan.

He is believed to come from Oswestry.

Some neighbouring businesses were evacuated and pupils at nearby schools were kept indoors.

Other companies were told to keep doors and windows shut.

Firefighters evacuated the building before going in wearing chemical protection suits and breathing apparatus to find the source of the high-pressure leak.

Precaution

It was then that the man's body was found.

Two firefighters were treated for minor breathing problems.

Pupils at Golborne High School and All Saints Primary School were kept inside during their dinner hour as a precaution as it was feared the leaked gas could cause irritation to the eyes and possibly make breathing difficult.

No roads were closed but people were asked to avoid the area.

Supt Shaun Currie, from Greater Manchester Police, said: "We were notified that there was a chemical leak on the premises. As a result, the police, fire service and ambulance crews arrived and evacuated the building.

"We made a search of the premises and the body of a man was found. This is being treated as a works accident.

"The fire brigade recovered the man's body and we have now informed his relatives."

Network

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Fire Service said: "The building has a large network of piping and the ammonia in the air made it very cold and so cloudy in there that firefighters could not see past the ends of their noses.

"The plant was shut down so there would be no further leak and we had to decide how to release the leaked ammonia from the plant in a controlled manner.

"We placed monitors in the plant to gauge the amount of ammonia in there so we could decide how to release it without it posing a risk to anyone nearby."

Wigan council's emergency planning officer attended the scene.

A council spokesman confirmed that the authority would be carrying out an investigation.

As the incident is in a storage premises, the investigation is carried out by the local authority rather than the Health and Safety Executive.